Case Study
Holistic Learning at Yeshiva University
Background
Yeshiva University sits at the heart of Manhattan, pairing rigorous academics with Jewish values. To serve a generation that expects help whenever they need it—day or night—the university teamed up with GPT‑trainer to build a network of AI‑powered assistants. Each assistant is trained to offer personal, ethics‑minded support across courses and campus services.
The Challenge
Yeshiva’s leadership set out four big goals:
- Personal guidance across many subjects: from finance and law to AI ethics and entrepreneurship.
- Round-the-clock tutoring: that complements office hours, not replaces them.
- Values-aligned conversations: that push students to think critically and reflect on ethical questions.
- Smarter campus operations: in HR, marketing, and project management.
Solution
Using GPT‑trainer, the university created a family of domain‑specific AI tutors and helpers:
- Socratic tutors: that prod students with open‑ended questions instead of one‑shot answers.
- Role-play scenarios: that let learners practice decision‑making in business deals, courtroom arguments, or historical debates.
- Source-aware responses: that cite the syllabus, readings, and university policies.
- Multi-disciplinary coverage: spanning business, law, healthcare, tech, and Judaic studies.
Behind the scenes, each agent draws on a mix of models—OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek—to handle multiple languages and complex reasoning tasks.
Implementation
The rollout followed a straightforward instructional‑design playbook:
- Design prompts: that match each course’s teaching style—debate coach, lab mentor, or reflective guide.
- Train with real course material: so the agents speak the same language as professors and TAs.
- Tune personas: to encourage curiosity and ethical inquiry.
- Collect feedback: from faculty and students, then refine.
- Embed agents: in the university’s learning portals for one‑click access.
Results
| Impact Area | What Changed |
|---|---|
| Vehicle & Registration | Step‑by‑step guidance on documents, fees, forms, and online services |
| Student engagement | Livelier discussions and deeper reflection, reported by faculty across humanities and STEM courses. |
| Subject breadth | Guided help now covers a dozen-plus disciplines, including financial literacy and ethics. |
| Access | 24/7 tutoring lets students get unstuck after midnight or before dawn |
| Operations | HR, marketing, and compliance teams offload routine questions and document drafts to AI helpers. |
| Ethical growth | Agents weave integrity and responsibility into day‑to‑day study sessions. |
Conclusion
By weaving GPT‑trainer into both classrooms and back‑office workflows, Yeshiva University proves that advanced tech can stay grounded in human values. The AI assistants don’t replace professors or staff—they free them to focus on mentorship, research, and the kind of personal guidance that shapes thoughtful leaders.